Rating: 
Summary: I loved it!
Review: I've read this book at least 3 times since I bought it last year and it hasnt gotten old yet. Levon Helm tells the story of The Band from the very beginning to the very end. It does give you that old time feel despite the fact Levon isn't the greatest writer. I laughed when I read the story about Rick (Danko) and the deer and I cried at the end when Richard died.
The book starts out brilliant and exciting, slows down in the middle (esepecially during the time that Levon was away from The Band) but picks up again at the end. Levon describes where each memeber came from and includes stories from every step of their journey. My favorite parts are when The Band is staying in Big Pink near Bob Dylan.
It is hard not to take in Levons feelings about certain elements of The Last Waltz especially when he expresses his views on Robbie Robertson, but besides his blatant opinions he gives the facts we may (or may not) want to hear.
I loved all of his descriptions of the members of The Band and the people they met on the road and believe them too be true after I myself met Garth Hudson at the Newport Folk Festival over the summer. Levon is a brilliant writer in his own way and I loved every page of This Wheels On Fire!
Rating: 
Summary: If You're A Fan of The BAND, There's No Doubt...
Review: ...you must read this book.Levon's down-home personality floods every page, and makes you wish you'd known him and his family growing up. Honestly, I probably enjoyed the chapters about his childhood as much or more than the chapters about being in one of my favorite groups--The Band. There are some self-serving moments, but hey, they're illuminating too! Check out how casually Levon dismisses his own drug addiction in the early 70s, and completely ignores the fact that THAT might have contributed to the rift between the rest of them and Robbie (Rick and Richard were addicts too). He blames the rift primarily on Robbie's receiving most of the writing credits, but if everybody else was strung-out, SOMEBODY needed to write the songs!!! Oh yeah, and Levon devotes a few paragraphs too many to an incident in which Ronnie Hawkins claimed that Levon had a large genital appendage...not really the sort of information I was looking for... Apparently these guys were knee-deep in the hedonistic lifestyle too, but Levon doesn't much go into that...which is probably for the best.
And oh boy, there are shades to the relationship between Robbie Robertson and Levon Helm that go far beyond what I previously realized...after reading this, you'll NEVER watch "The Last Waltz" the same way again. Man, oh man! Robbie comes off as less than likable, to put it kindly. And I gotta say, this isn't just a one-sided account, because Rick is quoted extensively too. Seems like money and fame can really wreck the best of friendships. Here's how. If you'd prefer to think of the Band as a bunch of kindly guys who simply had fun recording good albums, you might want to stay away from this book! But if you'd like to see what sort of stuff was going on behind the scenes, and what fuels the continuing bitterness between the surviving members, or if you want to know more about Richard Manuel's untimely death, this book is your best source.
Rating:
Summary: Laughed out loud!!!!
Review: Although Levon Helm's anger very apparent this is one of the funniest books I've read. His story telling is great.
Rating:
Summary: Levon Helm's On Fire (With Anger)
Review: An excellent, detailed account of the formation and destruction of one of the greatest rock and roll bands in history. Three words for Levon Helm - 'Get over it'.
Rating:
Summary: True American Folk Artist
Review: I loved this book! Levon Helm is truly a classic American musical figure. So deeply rooted in tradition and yet part of such a ground breaking musical group. Amazing stories for fans of The Band and Rock and Roll in general. Too bad about so much bad blood between Robbie Robertson and Levon. They both complement each other so well, musically. A fascinating read!
Rating:
Summary: This Wheel's on Fire
Review: I thought this book was very entertaining and seemed to be somewhat fair handed. I did take exception with the reader from Berkely, CA who cautions us to "not take it for gospel" as if he knows the inside truth. I do not take everything Levon says for gospel but at least he was there and knew the other members for 20+ years. How long has the reviewer been in personal contact with Levon to certify him an "old coot"?
Rating: 
Summary: the book of the band
Review: i would have liked to have seen a contribution by robbie included and some reflection from richard. levon's time away is moved thru too quickly when he was away. i would have liked to have read more detail of his life away from music. i enjoyed the criticism of neil diamond which everyone always had of his appearance in the last waltz.
Rating:
Summary: Bittersweet but evenhanded
Review: In this book, it feels like Levon Helm is honestly trying to tell the real story of The Band, without prettying it up too much or casting too many aspersions. The overwhelming feeling I had when reading this book is that he feels there's too much Robertson -- and maybe too much Helm -- in the popular vision of The Band, and he seems to be making a conscious effort to ensure that Rick Danko, Garth Hudson, and especially Richard Manuel get their fair share of the credit. Judging by the way this book reads, it seems that it's largely composed of verbal reminiscences by Helm, later pieced together by Davis and embellished with accounts from other interested parties. This can make for confusing reading -- you have to either be alert to changes of voice or be willing to back up and remind yourself who said this or that. It also leads to some apparent "mood swings" on Helm's part -- it is clear that there are certain things about the history of The Band that still make him angry. His attitude toward Robbie Robertson is a case in point: the guitarist is "Robbie" throughout most of the book, becomes "Robertson" when Helm is talking about business/publishing quarrels and the whole "Last Waltz" situation, and then turns back into "Robbie" when Helm is discussing less loaded issues or reminiscing about the good times. It's also very clear that Helm feels guilt as well as grief about Richard Manuel. The story begins with Manuel's death and then goes back to the beginning, and several times alludes to warning signs of Manuel's emotional instability that Helm seems to feel they should have caught. The final comment by Helm on Manuel's death sounds more like someone trying to think of a reason for the tragedy, rather than saying what he honestly believes happened. That segment sounds like a reflection of Helm's enduring wish to make sense of his friend's death, rather than a seriously-offered explanation for why it happened. Even Robbie Robertson does not get the raking one might expect, given the long-standing bad blood between the two. Helm is pretty scathing about how "The Last Waltz" turned out, and he is not impressed that Robertson went along with the label's tendency to make Robertson the "star" of The Band and everyone else "sidemen" (the group's distaste for that term having already been established.) But in a number of instances it is clear that in retrospect Helm doesn't feel Robertson was intentionally trying to hurt anyone else, and he does not attempt to diminish Robertson's role in the group (although he takes a pin to the notion that Robbie was the only one writing the songs.) Is this objective truth? I have no idea, but in a music industry in which Paul McCartney does not own the rights to his own songs, it certainly seems possible that more than one person deserved credit for the songs of The Band. Another factor in this book's favour is the fact that it is fun to read. Yes, its structure can be confusing. And yes, Helm is folksy. And he certainly does not go into the sex and drugs aspect of the story. (He does mention so many car crashes that it seems incredible that Manuel lived as long as he did, and nobody else got killed either.) But between them the two authors have gathered up dozens of crudely funny quips from Ronnie Hawkins (who comes off sounding like your most embarrassing but lovable uncle with a few drinks aboard) and Helm's account of Rick Danko and the deer, and his own accidental gunshot wound, are priceless. Some of Helm's ways of expressing himself are also pretty funny -- for example, his off-hand description of a road manager he didn't care for ("He was OK, but you wouldn't send him for the ammunition.") And you can tell he honestly loved the group and his bandmates, which is probably part of the reason there are still things he can't discuss dispassionately -- this is not a picture of a reserved or dispassionate man. Is this the "real truth" about The Band? I don't know. I suspect even the men who were there would have different answers to that question. But it reads like one man's attempt at honesty, as well as a heartfelt tribute to the people he loved and the days they shared. It's not, to me, a bitter tale, but it is certainly bittersweet.
Rating: 
Summary: The grand realization of what was under Neil Young's nose
Review: Let's get one thing straight: I don't have anything against drug-taking rock stars (are there any other kind?), but the degree to which Levon Helm matter-of-factly celebrates his and his band mates' absolutely industry-record-setting pace of cocaine and heroin abuse is hardly worth my time reading this book. And it's not just the drug admissions that get me, but the crumby admissions of how the band disintegrated partly because they couldn't collectively figure out what to do with all of their real-estate investment profits. The claim that Helm makes about wanting to "disengage" from the group because they decided not to invest in vacant land in Arkansas that now houses a Holiday Inn is hilariously embarassing. I mean, stripped of the veneer, yeah, it's a dose of reality, but that doesn't mean I have to actually like the result of Helm's iconoclastic prose. I mean, anyone who calls Levon Helm "homespun", "down home" and "laid back country" after reading this book must not have been paying attention. If Levon Helm wasn't a rock musician, he'd be Ivan Boesky, or another typical money-drugs-greed obsessed footnote in American cultural history. Oh wait, he is. Honestly, I started this book with "Stage Fright" and "Music From Big Pink" being among the sacrosanct albums I owned, and left the book wondering just what the fuss was all about. Totally turned off by now, I don't care to ever read it again, and my distaste for these creeps is so huge I honestly doubt I'll ever think of these guys the same way again. After Rick Danko's death, I'd like to ask Levon Helm what he feels the entire "business" of being in a band really is. Sad, really sad.
Rating:
Summary: Read em' And Weep
Review: Levon gives an honest,if bittersweet recollection of the difficult years of living on the road with The Band.From young prodigal R&B sidemen through pain,anguish,suicide and remorse-he weaves a captivating tale.Delightful reading for any one envious of the glorified myth of rock and roll stardom.One of the most sincere accounts of 60's bedlam,70's indulgence and 80's malaise I've read.
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